Tim Ferriss' Recommended Books & Advice From "Tim Ferriss on Mastering Any Skill"

In a very interesting interview from Entrepreneur magazine'sYouTube channel, Bryan Elliott of Behind the Brand talks with Tim Ferriss, who gives some great insights, tips, and recommendations from his adventures in life.

Tim recommends books to read and drops well thought-out advice throughout the video and I thought I would list them here for reference, categorized by the context of his recommendation.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  These are notes.  This is not an article with beautifully flowing language.  It is raw notes form a video interview written with a lot of spoken language.  Use it as a reference or a cheat-sheet and not a novel :)

Entrepreneurs
- Seneca - Letters From A Stoic - "the ideal operating system for entrepreneurs and people who want to thrive in high stress/pressure environments"
---- a precept: "anger is like acid in a vessel and it damages the vessel more than what has the acid poured on it." => deliver "punishment" to haters/trolls by letting them continue to be who they are.
---- http://www.lettersfromastoic.net/ (a free resource)
---- Book on Amazon
- The Art of the Elevator Pitch
- Build the product that you want, that you are currently cobbling together a solution for
- As a workaholic, build-in gratitude and appreciation into your schedule/calendar
---- if stuck trying to find gratitude or things one is thankful for:
-------- create a "gratitude list": list 3 things your are thankful for last thing before you go to bed and first thing in the morning
---- schedule 80-20 Analysis
-------- 20% of Activities and People that are producing 80% of the results and positive emotional states
-------- 20% of Activities and People that are producing 80% of the problems and negative emotional states
-------- 20% of Activities and People that are consuming 80% of my time
-------- do it on a piece of paper, takes 15 to 30 minutes
-------- this goes into creating a TODO list and a NOT TODO list
------------ circle the one or two most important things, the force multipliers
---- schedule Fear Setting
-------- looking at why you haven't done the most important TODO and why you haven't stopped doing the most important NOT TODO
-------- helps define your fear very clearly
-------- just like goal setting, if you don't have specificity in your goal, you will not achieve it because it is a moving target
-------- on piece of paper, in one column, write down all the worst things that could happen, in great detail
-------- on the second column, write down all the ways to mitigate the risk/impact of the things form the first column
-------- in third column, list all the things you could do to get back to where you are now, if it happened
-------- when laying things out like this, most things have very low irreversible risk of a negative outcome
-------- this allows you to act on the most important things
-------- being effective (ie: doing the right things), choosing the things you do very carefully, is more important than being efficient (ie: doing things well)
---- Tim does these every two weeks
- What qualities does Tim look for in founding entrepreneurs he invests in
---- 1. have done something extremely high stress where failure is constant
-------- eg: sports, previous startups, sales, something where they are accustomed to facing failure on a small or large scale, almost every single day
-------- basically resilience.  Doesn't care how smart or how many MBA's they have, if they haven't dealt with the pressure and stresses of a fast paced, venture backed, startup, with boards to contend with, HR issues to contend with, they will implode.
---- 2. the "Beer Test" or the "Mall Test"
-------- The Mall Test: if you see someone from afar at a mall, and they don't see you, do you avoid them, wave from afar, or do you come up to them and spark a conversation.
---- 3. Basic understanding of the economics at work
---- 4. Having a very keen understanding of the competitive landscape
---- 5. Having a very clearly defined problem
---- 6. Having a very clearly defined customer
- loves the Henry Ford quote "I'll let you name the price, if I get to name the terms." - gotta know your terms (re: startup investment)
- thinks Shark Tank is good to learn negotiation when seeing it in real time when they discuss terms
- Negotiation Tips
---- Secrets of Power Negotiating
---- Getting Past No - Negotiating in Difficult Situations
---- you have to practice
---- "like in boxing: everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."


Marketers
- Marketing means identifying exactly who your customer is, knowing their behaviors, knowing their age, knowing their gender, their location, what kind of music they listen to, etc.  The easiest way to do that is to sell to people who are as similar to you as possible, at least start with that.
- The target is not your market.
- 1,000 True Fans by Kevin
- It's Not About You: The Truth About Social Media Marketing by Tim O'Reilly
- The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
- To connect with people more influential than you are (in a space)
---- In-person is the least crowded channel and most effective
-------- they have to trust the messenger before they endorse the message
-------- Ask/talk about them until they ask about you, then be super humble and soft sell
-------- always give them an easy out


Bloggers / Online Personalities
- On Writing Well
- Bird by Bird, for the psychological aspect
- Letters to a Fiction Writer, "even if you don't plan on writing fiction"
- Write the blog that you want, that you are currently struggling to find to read
- What to do when you have writers block? Write about things that anger you
- If you allow petty, abusive, behavior in comments, it escalates very, very quickly, attracting other people who want to engage in that bad behavior.


Miscellaneous
- Most industries/companies want to be second to market
---- banks don't want to loan you money until you don't need it
---- insurance companies don't want to insure you unless you don't need it
---- Apple weren't first to put songs on a device like an iPod, but they did it better
- Its never been easier to create content and self publish, but its never been harder to get the attention, or mental bandwidth, you need to "put something into orbit"
- Two of the most difficult things to build are Trust and Attention
- The vast majority, the silent majority, will like your stuff.  The 10%, that are haters, will find a way to take it personally
- The best response to haters/trolls on the internet: starve it of oxogen
---- philosophical: starving it of attention
---- practical: addressing it and linking to it adds fuel to their fire
- Philosophy is, ideally, an operating system for life, for making decisions on what you should do and what you shouldn't do


Tim Looks Up To:
- Richard Feynman - an incredible, thoughtful, teacher
- Ben Franklin - "demonstrated the power of the amateur"


How Tim Ferriss uses social media: http://youtu.be/AysWsbrtzMU?t=12m27s

Tim Ferriss was also discussing his book 4-Hour Chef where he teaches one "how to learn anything."

Overall a great video with some great references.  I can't wait to soak up all the curated knowledge from his references! :)

SUPER LEAN Development Methodology for the Startup in Discovery Mode

The following is the development methodology I've been using on my Fantasy Sports startup, Easy Pickem.  The methodology grew from trying to stay lean and squeeze every last bit of waste out of the process to maximize value.  It is still very much a work in progress and I look forward to your valuable insights or constructive criticisms.

This is meant to be used after one has done their due diligence in customer development, has prioritized their hypothesis, and is ready to code the next most important feature.


SUPER LEAN Development Methodology for the Startup in Discovery Mode

1. Prototype - include only the minimum amount of effort for the desired UX and start in this order

          a. client UI/UX

          b. server-side logic (only if needed to test ux)

          c. database persistence layer (only if needed to test ux)

2. User Test

          a. Walk through UX for Use Case Yourself

          b. Have another person walk through the UX for the Use Case

3. Iterate Until UX Feels Good

4. Add Behavioral Tracking

         a. Google Analytics for instance for web/mobile products

5. Deploy / Launch / Ship the Prototype

6.  Develop a different prototype feature while collecting data

7. If Data Proves Prototype is Successful, continue to 8, otherwise, throw it away and start on next hypothesis prototype

8a.  If new features are to be built on top of prototype, Write Tests and Refactor with TDD

8b.  If new features are NOT to be built on top of prototype, you're done, move on to next hypothesis prototype

         - if you are wrong about this initially and have to come back to build on top of the prototype, take the time to refactor with TDD - it will save time

Do you agree with this format?  How would you improve it?

For more on Customer Development see Steve Blank's blog.

Power Cubby - a Redbox for Phone Charging

Raw notes of a startup idea...

Inspired by a Fred Wilson article about new 10-minute power charging technology, I present to you an idea for Power Cubby - a Redbox for Phone Charging.

What It Is

A service, much like checking a coat at a restaurant or checking a backpack at an event, that will charge your phone while you are away from home or office and are doing an activity in which you don't (shouldn't?) use it, like the movies or a restaurant.

How It Works

0. Restaurants, Movie Theaters, Business-Lunch Hotspots, will have these "vending machines" with "charge pad" cubbies for phone-sized devices (sorry phablets!).

1. Open App and Register the Cubby Machine (get machine info via QR code/gps/wifi/nfc/etc.)
2. Cubby is opened
3. Place phone flat on power-charging pad in cubby
4. Receive a bar coded ticket (like a parking garage)
5. Cubby door closes and locks
6. Go do something awesome while your phone charges
7. Return to machine and insert ticket
8. Charge is displayed (transaction logged in app and email digest/receipt can be sent)
---- note: tracking the power level of the charge would be awesome here too
9. Cubby door is opened
10. User takes phone and goes on their merry way

Testing Product-Market Fit

Movie Theaters

Lean Test 1: Will Users Give Up Their Phones?
Have "secure looking" (to build trust) set of a iPhone chargers in a power strip with an extension cord (or a couple wireless charging pads) on a table with a cloth, a big sign, and an attendant, setup inside of movie theater, charge is Free.

Lean Test 2: Will Users Pay For Charge?
Same as #1, but charge $1 (can do cash only to keep it simple)

Business-Lunch Hotspots

Same as #1 and #2, but in a location that is a business-lunch hotspot.  This might be an easier test as no movie theater approval will be needed.

Other Tag Lines:
Valet Phone Charging

How would YOU make this product better?

First Week Working From Home: Efficiencies & Deficiencies

First Week Working From Home: Efficiencies & Deficiencies

These are probably obvious efficiencies and deficiencies, but they are worth note as they were the most impactful my first week.

Efficiencies

Zero Commute

I thought I was spoiled with a 10 minute commute with no traffic at SpaceX.  Man, oh man, coffee table to desk is as good as it gets.  This is huge when having to switching between "office guy" and "home guy" when something needs attention.

No Walk-By, BTW Distractions

The passer-by "oh, btw, how do I do this or that" office walk-by distractions are non-existent.  At SpaceX, in our fast-paced working environment, this happened a few times a day and added up to a considerable time suck from what was scheduled.  Don't get me wrong, these still add value, but they could probably be more efficiently delivered.

The Right Tool For The Job

Fully owning one's working environment, means one can customize the tool for the job.  Having the freedoms of customizing desk space, monitors, towers, laptops, plants, and even music playing over speakers as opposed to headphones are all "the little things" that aggregate into impactful differences.  My workspace is peaceful and productive.  I love it.

Deficiencies

Family at Home Distractions

My wife, brother, dog, and cat all work from home.  While they have been very respectful of my space and time while working this first week, it is also very tempting for either of us to engage the other with something small here or there.  Since I am the impostor, invading the space in which they have become accustomed to working, I am patiently seeing how this plays out.  Weeks like this past one, my first, had minimal external distractions and should be well within reason going forward.  Because the distraction risk is there, though, I have my eye on a couple local co-working locations.  Namely Coloft, NextSpace LA, and Launch Co-Work.

A Cuddling Companion and a Playful Furry Friend

Pets are awesome and they know how to irresistibly ask for your attention.  I'm fairly good at this compromise when I can afford it.  Because cute cat pictures are good for productivity, this distraction could be a net positive.

Home Office v. House Guest

Having a home office near the common areas means a little co-host responsibility is required.  Ideally, I can create an isolated fortress of working solitude to stay focused when in the zone.  Efficiently spending time is key to "making more time in the day".



These were my big takeaways from my first week working from home at a distributed startup company, MerlinCryption.

For more takeaways of my first experiences jumping from 8 years of corporate life to scrappy, entrepreneurial, startup life, subscribe to my blog, follow me on Twitter, or circle me on Google+.

Have Fun While Working Hard.

 - Graeham

#Launch2013 Fireside Chat w/ Evan Williams @ev (The Obvious Corporation)

The following are my rough notes from the #Launch2013 fireside chat between Jason Calacanis (@Jason) and Evan Williams (@ev).  Rough and raw points I found interesting to keep track of :)

- no 5 year roadmap
- his new product is "medium" with collections
- building cohorts of like minded ideas
- what matters to young entrepreneurs "do someting you really wnat to exist in the world and focus on it entirely, and something good will probably come of it."
- big companies are doomed to be slow, and we don't have to worry about them movnig into the space of a startup, so we can all build new things - based on experience working in google
- branch" better conversations
- lift" habit tracking app
- "beyond meat" alternative meat

VC Panel 2 Notes from #Launch201

VC Panel - Enterprise (@mamoon Hamid @mamoonha, Josh Stein @dfjjosh, Wesley Chan Google Ventures @weschan, Jay Levy @zelkovavc)
- how does mobile first disrupt CRM?
- mobile is the next dislocation in the enterprise
- "bring your own Device", "bring your own Service"
- in enterprise, you can sell the value => you save x, i charge x-y
- sugar crm > salesforce
** checkout sugar crm
- more expensive to start, to get to first customer, but once you get there, there is revenue, challenge then is hyper growth
- challenge is not making money, the challenge is scaling beyond $100 million
- like a "work day" (look into that product)
- a lot of commonalities between sales and marketing on saas companies
- in vc's find someone that can provide value over provide money
- when choosing vc's, ask them for the companies for which they didn't have their best experiences, and go talk to the ceo's, do your research

VC Panel Notes 1 from #Launch2013

VC Panel
- demonstrate knowledge in gaining traction, organic growth
- content is generally seen as "bad" investment, but platforms are generally "good" investment
- content is important, a la movie studioes, otherwise just empty screen
- interesting to see people pull in
- mobile phones have fast turn around time, more than pc's, more than tv's
- human to computer interaction huge opportunity for disruption
- lot of startups are not radical, big picture ideas, google is good at it
- has a "need" to succeed, not a awant
- vc's want to feel inspired, and might dropout even if it sounds like a good business
- needs vision but also great execution
- sending physical business plans to VC's is a very bad thing in this day and age, go digital
- "how do you build a monopoly doing this"